WEST GLACIER (AP) _ Rangers from Glacier National Park and wardens from Banff National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada cooperated this week in rescuing an injured Whitefish hiker.
Denis Twohig, 68, took a 15-foot pendulum fall at about 5:30 p.m. Monday while leading a technical rock climb on Glacier’s Gendarme, a prominent feature on the northeast ridge of Little Chief Mountain in the St. Mary Valley.
His climbing partner stopped his fall, then lowered Twohig a short distance to a ledge and secured him.
Twohig’s partner then descended Little Chief Mountain and hiked out, reaching the Rising Sun Lodge store at about 11 p.m. and reporting the accident to Glacier Park dispatch.
Park rangers conducted planning sessions on the rescue into the early morning hours.
Using a Parks Canada helicopter, rescuers secured the Twohig and lifted him from the ledge. He was transferred to an ALERT air ambulance and flown to a Kalispell hospital about 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The extent of his injuries and current condition were not released.